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In the early summer of 1514, Spanish conquistador Ponce de Leon returned home to the court of King Ferdinand as a hero. De Leon was among the first of Spain’s conquistadors to discover gold– right here in Puerto Rico. And that was enough for him to be knighted and bestowed all sorts of
When Gideon Gono became the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe in late 2003, his country was already suffering from terrible hyperinflation. Throughout the 1990s, inflation in Zimbabwe averaged well over 20%. And just a few years later inflation had reached 200%. That’s when Zimbabwe’s government hired Gideon Gono to fix the
It’s not generally in my nature to heap praise upon a place with a 53% tax rate, a 25% VAT, or one of the top ten highest tax burdens in the world. But as I often remark, nearly every place in the world has something great going for it… some unique competitive advantages
301 AD was a big year for the Roman Empire. That was the year that, amid spiraling inflation, Emperor Diocletian issued his Edict on Maximum Prices, essentially fixing prices of just about everything across the Roman Empire. The price of wheat, a day labor’s wages, a quart of olive oil, transportation rates– everything
While traveling across Europe recently, Sovereign Man’s CEO (Viktorija) became quite ill and needed some urgent medical treatment. First, she’s doing fine, and we’re grateful for that. Second, it’s not COVID. I know that in the collective mind of most of the world, and for especially public health experts, no other disease exists
Think back to where you were two years ago today. For me, I was in Trakai, Lithuania. It was Day 4 of our 10th annual Sovereign Academy entrepreneurship camp. My dear friends Bill and Marco were giving a joint lecture to the students on hiring, firing, and building culture within a business. Craig
By the summer of 1849, Karl Marx was still an obscure writer struggling to make an impact. He had published The Communist Manifesto— a short, 23-page pamphlet– the previous year in 1848. But as yet it had failed to catch on. Marx was operating a fledgling newspaper in Germany at the time. But
Nearly every year in his annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letters, Warren Buffett spends a few pages talking about the dynamism of the American economy. His message is clear: the United States has faced adversity before. It will again. But America always prevails and you should never bet against it. That theme has certainly
The most astute investors in the world understand that there is no such thing as a risk-free investment. Every investment carries at least some risk; stocks, bonds, venture capital, real estate… even something as simple as keeping money in a bank.… they all carry some degree of risk. Sharp investors take steps to
In late 2019, the real estate firm Knight Frank published a list of the most expensive streets in the world, i.e. the individual neighborhoods with outrageously pricey real estate. The top 10 list included four streets in New York City (57th Street, Central Park South, Fifth Avenue, and Park Avenue), three in Hong
One of the wonderful people I’ve been fortunate to get to know in my life is legendary investor and prolific author Jim Rogers. I’ve known Jim for nearly 10 years now. He’s a great guy and I’ve learned so much from him– about finance, markets, travel, writing. But above all that, one thing
It feels like it’s easily been two years since I’ve recorded a public podcast. But after yesterday’s article about inflation, I realized that I had so much more to say. Inflation– which is essentially the slow destruction of a currency– is already a major issue that’s capturing headlines. But there are plenty of
This morning I reached out to my old friend and colleague Peter Schiff to talk about some uncomfortable truths that very few people are discussing right now. I wrote to you about this yesterday: banks are in trouble. You can’t expect to shut down practically an entire world economy that is in debt
I thought in this age of insanity that we are living in, nothing would surprise me anymore. But sure enough, there was a headline in the Financial Times the other day, “Central banks should consider giving people money.” It seems almost impossible that someone could believe in something so ridiculous. And yet this
Each year, I invite an incredible mix of young people from more than a dozen countries to join me in Lithuania for an intense week of business, investing and entrepreneurship classes taught by the smartest people I know (it’s also entirely free for the students who attend. I pay out of my own
Last week in its annual report, the US government reported that Social Security’s long-term, unfunded liability now exceeds $50 TRILLION. Moreover, they state that the Social Security and Medicare trust funds will run out of money in 2034. This is the government’s own calculation. Bottom line: The younger you are, the less you
Today’s podcast is with Marin Katusa. Marin is a world-class resource investor and lead analyst for Katusa Research – his publishing company, where he shares the details of many of the private investments he makes. Marin’s been investing in resource stocks for twenty years. And he’s gained a reputation as a guy who
Today’s episode of the Sovereign Man Podcast features non other than Sovereign Man’s Chief Investment Strategist, Tim Staermose, talking about not one but two highly successful, targeted investment strategies with proven track records. If you are a regular SMC or 4th Pillar reader, then you’re familiar with Tim’s wit, his financial probity, and
Today we bring you a fresh episode of the Sovereign Man Podcast, where Simon Black unpacks why the people in charge have no idea what they’re talking about… and how you can protect yourself from their policies. Freshman politicians want to nationalize entire industries. They want to increase the marginal tax rate to
Welcome to another edition of the Sovereign Man podcast. As we enter 2019, you’ll start to see more podcasts from us. And you also might notice a few changes. We’ve upped the production value of our chats with Simon. And we’ll continue to improve both the production and the content of our podcasts.
Between the year 1054 and 1224, there were 83 civil wars in Russia. That’s about one civil war every two years. Through the middle ages, feudal lords were periodically murdered in peasant revolts. When people sense too much unfairness in the system, the pitchforks come out. Wealth and inequality have been with us
Last week I recorded the most memorable podcast I’ve hosted in some time. Jim Grant, editor of the famed Grant’s Interest Rate Observer, joined us for a discussion. Grant’s, in my opinion, is one of the finest financial publications out there. And it’s a treat to have a guy like Jim on the
It’s been a hell of a week here in the Italian countryside. I’ve been treating my team and some friends to a sort of mini-vacation at a 400-year old wine and olive estate that we’ve taken over. The views, the food, the wine, the company… it’s all incredible. Each night about two dozen
In today’s podcast, I share the details of a deal a well-known private bank just offered me (and its roster of other high-net worth clients). It’s a bad deal in every way… the asset in question is valued insanely high, there’s likely a ton of debt attached to this deal and I doubt
Last week, Paolo Savona, an Italian man no one outside the country had ever heard of, was denied the position of finance minister. Italy’s President denied his appointment because Savona is anti-euro. The President believes Italy should remain part of the euro. I wrote a Notes about the entire situation last week. But
In today’s podcast, I share more thoughts on Puerto Rico including my experiences opening a business there. While the island has its problems, I’m still bullish on the long-term future given Puerto Rico’s incredible tax incentives (especially after meeting with their government leader and seeing how open they are to productive people moving
I’m writing from San Juan, Puerto Rico today. The Sovereign Man team is here to host 150+ Total Access members over the weekend. And on today’s podcast, we discuss the amazing tax benefits in PR… and why crypto wealth is flocking to the island. These people think crypto is going to the moon.
Wells Fargo stole the headlines yet again today for defrauding its clients. The bank was fined $1 billion today for selling over 500,000 clients auto insurance they didn’t need (which in some cases caused the owners to default on their car loans and get their cars repossessed) and for charging erroneous fees to
On Monday, I shared a recording from aboard the Investor Summit at Sea, hosted by my friends, the Real Estate Guys. This is one of the only conferences I attend each year as a speaker. And that’s because I get so much value from the other speakers and attendees – guys like Chris
I was in the gym earlier today trying to ward off the effects of trans-Pacific travel and 12 hours of time zone changes when the news flashed across the TV that the US government was issuing another round of tariffs against China. This may be the dumbest move they could possibly make. It’s
On the morning of May 18, 1927 in Bath Township, Michigan, a 55-year old municipal worker named Andrew Kehoe used a timed detonator to set off a bomb he had planted at the local school. Kehoe was Treasurer of the School Board, so he had unfettered access to the school. According to friends
As I write this, bitcoin is trading at $8,600. That’s down more than 50% from the December highs of $20,000. But is this selloff a natural correction, or something to be worried about? That’s one of the questions I ask my guest Tama Churchouse in today’s podcast. Tama was an investment banker for
In today’s podcast, I talk with our Chief Investment Strategist, Tim Staermose, about the global economy. We’re in the midst of one of the longest economic expansions in history. Most assets are trading at all-time highs. Meanwhile, debt is also at all-time highs. But we don’t have a crystal ball… this boom could
In today’s podcast, we discuss the recent crypto meltdown (led by Ripple) and how it plays into our recent theme of avoiding huge mistakes. Here’s the thing about big mistakes… they’re usually obvious and avoidable. Like when the Social Security Board of Trustees told the world in its 2017 report that the “Trust
My colleague, Sean Goldsmith, just returned from a tour of the Caribbean. He met with several local governments about their ‘citizenship by investment’ programs – a way to receive a passport by donating money or investing in local businesses or real estate. If you have the means, this is probably the quickest and
